


Scent of Home

by Sanalith



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 09:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/637665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanalith/pseuds/Sanalith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the curse breaks, Ruby's wolf senses begin returning, especially her enhanced sense of smell. One day, a stranger walks into Granny's, a woman she's never smelled before. A woman named Belle. Mainly Ruby/Belle broship, but there's some Red Beauty if you squint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scent of Home

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a holiday exchange for Shifty_Gardener on Livejournal. Spoilers through Child of the Moon. Many thanks to my beta readers, PotionsMistressM and Lealila!

Looking back, Ruby could easily see that even the great power of the curse hadn’t dampened her wolf senses completely. To compensate, it had simply provided her with memories and experiences that allowed her to make sense of them. She’d always had excellent hand-eye coordination and balance, for example, which her mind insisted came from years of school sports and dance classes. Her heightened sense of smell was obviously a result of working in a restaurant for so long and being surrounded by rich aromas day in and day out. Her excellent hearing was a bit harder to explain away, but lots of people had better-than-average hearing, didn’t they? It wasn’t cause for any great confusion or curiosity.

Her brief stint as Emma’s deputy was really the only time she’d felt truly extraordinary. She’d been able to locate David when no one else even came close, and the instincts that had led her to the buried heart were simply inexplicable. She should have wondered then if there was something truly special about her, but the curse was too powerful and managed to force the idea out of her mind before it even truly took root.

Now, however, she knew differently.

As strong as Ruby’s senses had been, Red’s were ten times better. She felt a bit like Superwoman as her memories flowed back and her true nature reasserted itself. The threat of the full moon worried her more than she’d like to admit, but for now – for right now – she could enjoy it.

Though she enjoyed all of her special gifts, Ruby had to admit her favorite was her overly sensitive nose. Powerful hearing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, especially when she found herself unintentionally eavesdropping on private conversations, and her speed and agility didn’t really serve much purpose in small-town Storybrooke. But she’d always adored rich scents, and now she could breathe them in with the very air.

She began making a game of it, trying to identify people as they came into the diner without looking up. She nearly always guessed correctly on the first try, and even when she didn’t, all it took was one mistake. It was amazing how differently everyone could smell when they lived and mingled together so closely every day, but it was true. David had an earthy, sweaty smell to him, probably from all the running he did from one end of town to the other. Archie smelled like wood smoke, which she learned came from the fireplace he lit every night regardless of the heat. Henry she could only identify as “fresh,” possibly stemming from his youth, though he always left the diner smelling of chocolate and cinnamon. Leroy and the dwarves obviously carried the dirt and dust of the mines with them, though each seemed to do so in slightly different ways. The few times Regina had entered, she’d smelled of nothing but heavy perfumes, and Ruby wondered if she was unconsciously using them as a mask. Granny gave off a myriad number of smells, more than Ruby could ever identify, but it always provided a sense of warmth and love. It made her feel like a child again, safe and sound with no curse, surrounded only by family and friends. She loved that smell most of all.

And then one day a new scent appeared, one Ruby had never even come close to noticing even before the curse broke. It was completely unique, a combination of vanilla and roses, and beneath it all, something almost…stale. It reminded her ever so slightly of how Henry had smelt directly after coming out of the hospital.

Turning, Ruby saw a girl about her age with dark curls and bright blue eyes. She looked exceedingly uncomfortable and wrung her hands together, looking around the diner, almost as though she had no idea what to do.

Hesitation. Confusion. Fear. The air around her was rank with it, and Ruby’s heart immediately melted.

Putting on her brightest smile, she walked over to the girl, keeping her voice low so as not to startle her. “Hi. Welcome to Granny’s. Can I help you?”

The stranger gave a smile, small and hesitant but still genuine. “I…I’m not sure.” She bit her lip. “I know you’ll think me completely ignorant, but I’m really not sure what to do here.”

Assuming it must have had something to do with the curse, Ruby patted her shoulder. “Don’t give it a second thought. We’re all having some difficulty right now.” She gestured to a booth. “Why don’t you have a seat and I can get you something to eat or drink. Coffee? Or maybe a soda? Iced tea?”

The girl suddenly perked up. “Did you say tea?”

Ruby grinned. “Tea it is!”

******************

Looking back over both her lives, Ruby realized she hadn’t had many friends. Growing up in her village in the Enchanted Forest, she’d been fairly isolated. She’d been somewhat close to a few girls her age, but Granny never liked to let her out of her sight long enough to really get to know people very well. It was amazing she’d been able to see Peter as often as she had. Snow White had been her first – and only – really true friend. She’d never before met someone so selfless, someone who loved with her entire heart and soul. By the time the curse hit, the two had been as close as sisters, and she’d considered the girl as much a part of her family as she did Granny.

When Mary Margaret had thrown herself into the mysterious, magical top hat to follow her daughter back to their old world, Ruby had openly wept at the thought of losing her friend so soon after finding her again. She knew, probably better than anyone save her Charming, that Snow could take care of herself, but it was still like a punch to the gut. She’d never made any real friends in Storybrooke, other than perhaps Emma, who was also conveniently gone. A part of her was convinced that she was destined to lose the people she loved, and wondered if it was better if she simply stayed alone.

But now here was Belle. As sweet and kind as Snow but with a backbone of steel that would do Emma proud. She’d felt an instant attachment to the girl from the moment she’d entered the diner, but the more and more she learned about her past, the more her respect and admiration grew. Ruby considered herself a strong woman, but even she wasn’t certain she could have survived nearly three decades alone in a hospital cell without going completely mad.

Over the next few weeks, the two spent much of their free time together, getting to know one another and forging a tight friendship. More than anything, Ruby loved introducing Belle to the modern world. Food came first, obviously, but then things like movies and cars and CD players. Belle was especially curious about kitchen appliances, and would often spend hours poking at the stove and microwave, learning every nuance she could.

“I was a housekeeper and cook in my...” Belle wrinkled her nose in the adorable way Ruby loved, which she did whenever she was slightly confused. “Well, in my past life, I suppose. I can hardly imagine not slaving away over an iron stove any longer!”

Belle was generally a quick learner, and she was baking cookies and re-heating soup in no time. The only piece of modern equipment she couldn’t seem to master was the computer, which Ruby attempted to show her when she re-opened the library.

“It’ll make everything so much easier!” she promised. “No memorizing, no doing calculations by hand, and you’ll never lose a book! The computer will do everything for you.”

Belle tried, she truly did, but in the end she had to shake her head. “I think this is beyond me for right now.” She gave the pile of books next to her a loving pat. “Besides, I’d think I’d rather do everything myself. I wouldn’t trust this box to know my books like I do.”

Ruby smiled. She’d never been much of a reader herself, and Belle’s passion for the written word never ceased to amaze her. When she wasn’t assisting customers, Belle sat at the circulation desk and read, claiming she had centuries of catching up to do. How could she possibly run a library when she didn’t recognize any of the books on her shelves? While her goal of reading them all was more than likely out of her reach, she was determined to read at least a sampling from every genre. Ruby even found herself asking hesitantly for recommendations, which Belle happily provided. She wasn’t exactly sure why, but her enthusiasm was contagious, and Ruby loved being able to share something that was clearly so important to her friend.

In return, Ruby encouraged Belle to spend several evenings a week with her. They watched Ruby’s favorite movies, and Belle quickly discovered a love for romantic comedies and superheroes. They watched The Avengers three times before Belle declared she’d memorized enough of the dialogue to be content.

But the times Ruby liked best were when they curled up together in her living room with mugs of hot drinks and simply talked.

Belle listened with a sympathetic but never pitying ear when Ruby spoke of her past, and she hugged her tightly when she forced out the memories of killing first her lover and then her own mother, to say nothing of the village massacres she’d caused.

“You’re not a monster,” Belle whispered, rocking her back and forth. “You didn’t know what you were doing in the beginning. It wasn’t you at all. You can’t blame yourself.”

“And Anita?” she murmured brokenly, feeling her tears soaking Belle’s thin dress.

“That was out of necessity,” Belle soothed. “We do what we must when we have no other choice. It’s not your fault. It’s not.”

Not since Snow had anyone been able to calm her so well, to make her feel like she was truly a good person despite her past. That she could be forgiven for all the pain and suffering she’d caused.

In return, Ruby listened when Belle described her life as a nobleman’s daughter, her abject terror at the threat of the ogres, and her agreement with Rumplestiltskin. Ruby cringed at the thought of going with such a powerful and destructive man, though she had to admit it sounded like Belle had fared better than most would have as his housekeeper, and he’d treated Belle with nothing less than perfect courtesy the times she’d seen them together in Storybrooke. It wasn’t until Belle spoke of her time spent in Regina’s dungeon, and then the hospital basement, that her temper flared.

“To be used like that, as a pawn, as leverage.” Her eyes were bright with anger, her voice a snarl before softening. “I’m so sorry, Belle. You’re far too good for that.”

Belle blushed slightly, but she shook her head. “Things happen for a reason, and getting angry about them, or even regretting them, doesn’t do any good.” She grasped Ruby’s hand in a gentle grip. “Besides, if things had gone differently, who knows if my life would have been any better? Married to Gaston, a man who never truly loved me, mother to a brood of children who cared for nothing but hunting and sword fighting.” She smiled. “And then the curse might never have brought me here, like this, and I might never have met you. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

Ruby had no answer for that, only a warm feeling that spread outward from the vicinity of her heart. Leaning over, she reached out and embraced Belle tightly.

“I wouldn’t trade it, either,” she whispered. “Not for anything.”

There was a long hard road ahead for everyone. Mary Margaret and Emma needed to be found. The new curse of the town boundary line had to be broken. Family members were still waiting to be reunited. A new war was approaching, whether it came from old foes like Regina or new threats like Albert Spencer, the erstwhile King George. As the prince’s right hand, Ruby needed to be ready to fight.

But somehow, none of that seemed so bad when she pictured it all with Belle by her side. Her beautiful smiles, her quiet strength, and her firm belief in the innate goodness of the world gave Ruby courage she never knew she had.

And now, when Belle came into the diner and Ruby breathed deeply of her scent, she smelled not only roses and vanilla and parchment from old books.

She smelled home.


End file.
